#I didn't talk about their actual signs just their similarities and differences LOL

[atryoshka]

Frenchie and Izzy getting together would be genius and tbh I can't unsee it now

Love that Izzy and Frenchie actually have a lot in common on a deeper level that wasn't really apparent to me until s2 when we see how they deal with trauma in equal but opposite ways. We have Frenchie with his little box that allows him to straight up ignore the dark shit he's been through like it doesn't exist, happily eat some blood cake, and thinking that his death being given a clear deadline is a comfort. Then we have Izzy trying to stone face his way through having his body parts severed, just business as usual bc that's the pirate life and it won't change even though he's visibly holding back tears, and then accusing the crew of being too cowardly to kill him, actively inviting death bc he doesn't get why any of it even matters so keeping him alive is pointless.

What's interesting is that given the right circumstances, they could easily trade places, with Izzy being more lighthearted and Frenchie falling apart at the seams.

We've already seen signs of this with Izzy being much more chilled out after the crew made him the new unicorn, finding something in this terrible life that make him see them, and himself, in a more positive light. Like yeah, life is still filled with unimaginable horror, but now has a custom gold painted unicorn leg to trudge through it with, which is absolutely absurd but now he can't help but smile. So he decided his life is so unserious right now and you know what? A shark took his leg, end of story, here's a little wooden shark I made today just for fun lol. Frenchie on the other hand is still pretty relaxed despite everything that's happened so far, but I have a feeling that he was probably very similar to izzy in the past before he joined the crew of The Revenge. His past is pretty mysterious even with the little tidbits we get like him being in the service for bit. It doesn't sound like he was doing it for too long so the other things in his life that he doesn't talk about remain unknown, probably even to himself. The box exists so he can pretend any trauma he experiences doesn't even exist, unlike a fiction which still somewhat acknowledges that there was something that happened to him in a way he could accept. The truth is, he actually never moved on bc all the parts of his life that he's ignoring are still lurking inside him waiting to break out at anytime. I think when something accidentally triggers a memory he suppressed, we'll see a different side to him. Less chill, more shrewd survivalist, like when he and the others reunited with the revenge crew after being stranded at sea. He bounced back pretty fast after they got past the pinnata and cake standoff but it was interesting to see how ready he was to be violent and how untrusting he was of everyone's intentions in that context. He'd usually be much more chill and willing to fast talk his way out of a situation, even when he knows someone has bad intentions. (There's also probably something with religious trauma he's hiding but that's a whole other can of worms I won't get into. All I'll say is that combined with his very strong beliefs of the supernatural and grudging flippant way he does the cross symbol on himself when others do it, when they boarded the cursed ship, he was that only one to not step in the satanic circle before anyone even questioned what the strange lines even were. Did he immediately recognize it and consciously avoid it or was it gut reaction? Idk, but he sure as hell didn't speak up about it and just wearily watched the other step into it and draw their own conclusions. ) But getting back on track Honestly, their dynamic would be really interesting to explore in the show bc they could understand and care about each other in ways that would probably surprise them if given the opportunity to spend more time together on screen. tl;dr: All this to say that I fell down the rabbit hole after realizing that they are basically this meme, which has a lot of potential for so many hilarious and accidentally heartbreaking moments

[dinadearine]

Mizu with MixedRace!FEM!reader headcannons (quite accurate?)

so I would say she WOULD be very intrigued, getting to meet someone similar to her (yk that one scene in the brothel when an albino prostitute has blue eyes as well)

at first, she is skeptical whether she should trust you or not.

it made her decisions quite difficult to choose since she was betrayed by someone she loved (The fucker Mikio and her 'Mama')

and secondly, she WILL ask about your life like 'How does it feel like being treated differently?' LIKE as cold and stoic as possible,not really tryna show any kinds of signs of interest, she knew how it'll cause consequences of how you will treat her, or how you will talk to her, and possibly gonna be soft about it (A harsh tone, but some soft words.)

she has no interest on becoming TOO close (Poor Mizu) and while you two talk about how it felt like being treated less human, you can't clearly see her expressions growing softer, or tensed, She is really good at regaining composure and masking her expressions with the usual stoic one, and trying her best not to give in being too friendly with you.

well, if possible, if you two grew close enough, she can freely take off her glasses when she's alone with or without you, cause she knows damn well you are watching over her, even though she doesn't give a fuck about your presence near her. she may sometimes look away from you gaze as if she's hiding her blue eyes from you, but she is comfortable enough to not actually wear the glasses.

it will take a long time to gain her trust, like.. half a table spoon each month.. and after like.. idk maybe more than nine months, or a year (possibly four and a half of her trust (I counted the trust spoon from earlier lol) is enough to be close to you) she can freely tell you that she is a WOMANNNI swear, if ever your face grow red as she mentioned it, she knows what's going on in your mind, iykyk... (⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)but, you respect HER, respect is one of her biggest thing (not sexually) and she is grateful for that.

or if ever you were disguising as a man aswell, and you revealed yourself to her, she will be surprised and amused. How could she not noticing your we a woman? now she thinks she's getting less smart since she didn't know, but she won't complain about it.

she would be both uncomfortable and yet amused by your demeanor. (especially if you're as stoic as her)

she can practically treats you like a sibling (if you have no interest in her) or a friend with benefits (if you HAVE interest in her)

just like Ringo, she would be very annoyed with you if ever your a golden retriever like Ringo, annoyed, but not much.

in the dynamic, she is obviously the black cat.

(I'll post more if I remembered what I forgot to out here. iykyk)

[tame-a-messenger]

Damangela lives rent free on smoshtwt

...but in the most unfortunate way because have they not seen from this fixation of theirs that there's a section of us who will have a field day if Damien surprise us one day as a guest in a Starkid prod? Or another variant at Smosh where both Angela and Damien can showcase their talents and intellect? Their chaotic bickering is like treats because there's also other Smosh duos that have it too. But those fewer times where they truly shine, whether they're in the same video or not, really feels like a reward to witness it unfold.

(I am one of those who like this duo because of their musical inclinations and astounded by their way of thinking)

I simply don't know what they are trying to impose. The perfect person podcast really sealed it to me. That if what they imply is she only tolerates every interaction she had with him is simply off the marks. The pièce de résistance they can't ever refute.

Is it also not a tad reaching to practically put it on blast with their straw picking speculation that it was a Damien thing where they perceived him not being as socially adept in a way he is not in good terms to his coworkers? That's not a good look to give to someone who was masking before.

Smoshtwt can be too much sometimes,

I think I finally figured out why the interactions between here (tumblr) and there (Twitter) are so different - They partake in 'Stan' culture, while over here is a bit more rooted in classic 'Fandom' culture.

If you didn't know, 'Stan' comes from combining 'Stalker' and 'Fan' (I believe originating in the K-pop community) (though if you google it, it says it comes from an Eminem song. Funny, but I don't think that's right) so it's a bit more... intense. (either origin for 'Stan' is pretty extreme though)

That and Twitter in general festers a more hostile community. The more you make someone mad the more they interact with you, so Twitter pushes that content because of that.

(Back to your ask)

I don't know if I could physically watch a Starkid production with Damien in it, PURELY because I'd be TOO DAMN HAPPY. I'd be pausing every second and hyperventilating lol. (fr though, that would be SO FUCKING COOL!!)

It's maybe a little bit of a weird relation but, their dynamic to me is like watching a movie with incredible writing? For example of what I mean by that- Their Reddit Stories Ep really had me thinking totally different about all the situations. Literally every story Shayne would read out I would be thinking about what I thought about it, (I like to see if anyone on the couch is going to have similar opinions to me) and every. single. story. Angela and Damien came up with points I never even thought about, but were SO RIGHT!

He'd bring up something, then she'd dunk it with the most factual thing I've ever heard! (that guy not being able to wear that watch ever in front of his girlfriend !!) That whole episode is so good just for the way they both problem solve and how well they compliment each others opinions! They just have such good dialogue with each other. (Genuinely Oscar worthy writing in that episode of RS)

Every time I come across a post ANYWHERE talking about how they don't get why people even like Damangela because "Angela doesn't even seem to like Damien" it makes my eyes pop out of my skull.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?? DO WE KNOW THE SAME ANGELA AND DAMIEN???

Like the sheer amount they both have gone on record saying how much they enjoy each others presence and love each other doesn't mean anything to them?! The amount they make each other laugh??

Like it really does come across as these Accounts just really not liking Damien more than anything to actually do with his and Angela's dynamic. (I could talk about reasons why Damien comes across as 'awkward' or 'bad with coworkers' to some people at length, but I'll save that for another day)(<-signed, Another Neurodivergent person with people issues <3)

I'm also totally convinced all the people hating on Damangela haven't seen much content with both of them in it. That's the only reason I would accept as to why they hate Damangela so much lol, they truly just don't know what they're missing out on <3

[blade-that-was-broken]

In your soldier on au does branch ever think about signing up for the military? When he’s the age he can do it but this au got me thinking about how my older brother was in the military and how that influenced me to want to be in the military too but my family has a history with the military so idk if John Dory be in the military has influenced branch a little because they seem to be getting along.( sorry if doesn’t make sense but I just had some thoughts about it but this is a really interesting and cool au and I’m only 14 so I don’t really know how a 16 year old will think about this😅)

Oooooooohhhhh... okay, okay, okay I got this lol

This is entirely possible. Especially since John was 17 when he signed up and Branch is not that much younger now. I think he would probably consider it at some point, at the very least, although if John knew, he'd probably be like... now I know what Dickory was trying to do with his brother lol so it might be a theme lol.

I think Branch might consider it at some point; especially when John talks about the good things, the places he's been, the people he has met, the squad that became his family. And since Branch has a kind of disconnect from his brothers, he might think this is kind of a good idea. However, on the other hand, with John's new predicament and disability, Branch also gets a bit of a seat into what can - and even often does - happen when in that type of environment.

John lost his leg. And no matter how strong and capable he is or becomes, that is something he does have to struggle with because it is a huge, huge adjustment, especially at his age. So Branch could also very well be faced with what if John hadn't survived? Branch would have never have met him. What if Branch did the join the military and didn't survive?

In the end, he might consider even have a phase of daydreaming about it for a bit. But at the end of the day, he won't. He ends up gaining that family and relationships that he was longing for, mostly when he is in Hawaii with John (and by proxy, Bruce). Rosiepuff might even sell her house and end up moving them there because of it.

Branch gets friends and close relationships. Not just with John, but with other people too. Tresillo and the rest of John's squad actually get close with Branch too. He ends up having a better relationship - although a little awkward - with Bruce. He has some friendship/relationship with his nephews and possibly even Clampers and Hickory as well. Eventually Poppy will probably make an appearance as well and well, we know I ship Branch and Poppy.

Branch having that moment of wanting the military, part of it is because he was unfulfilled in his life and relationships and in the beginning, before things get better, he sees the good in John's life but he doesn't quite realize that good came out of some really painful loneliness that he didn't have the choice to find in his own family. Branch and John's loneliness are not exactly the same but very, very similar, even though their circumstances are a bit different.

Military backgrounds definitely influence a family, whether or not the family tries to. One of my high school friends, despite her small stature, was determined to get in because that was in her family. It wasn't that her parents told her she had to or even expected her to, but it was something she really wanted and she did. I don't know if she is still here or not, but I know she got in.

And don't worry, your ask made total sense. I'm sorry I went a bit above and beyond.

[theredengineapologist]

From the ttte movies you seen, whats your fav?

✨THE GREAT RACE✨

The Great Race is THE BEST ONE! I may not have seen most of the other movies yet, but I'm very sure NOTHING is ever gonna beat this movie for me.

You're telling me they made a Thomas movie centered around what is basically a Train Pageant (tm) AND they made it a MUSICAL!!??? Hell yeah! Sign me up!

But then you actually get in to the movie and it gets even better.

EVERY SONG IS A BOP! EVERY! 👏 SINGLE! 👏ONE! 👏 THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE MISS IN THIS MOVIE! I don't know what they were on, but they were pumping out JAM after JAM!

Secondly, I think the Great Railway Show was a great way to introduce more foreign engines into the show in a way that made sense. Pity that we didn't really get to see much of them. But I also feel like we didn't really need to. I mainly just liked that we got to SEE them.

One of the things I LOVE about Brenner Era CGI Thomas is how the world of Sodor feels so much bigger. In the model series I get this sense that the Island of Sodor is this quaint little English countryside island where nothing much happens, and the engine's shenanigans are the most interesting things to happen in day-to-day life. Whereas I feel like in Brenner Era CGI Thomas, the world feels much grander. Still very much an English countryside island. But the island itself feels much bigger. The engines and the people living on it feel much busier. And in some ways I would say the cast itself feels more diverse once they gave the characters unique voices. I'm a sucker for shows that allow their characters to speak in different dialects, and giving Duck his West Country accent and the narrow gauge engines Welsch accents honestly endeared them to me more.

Anyway, main point I'm trying to get at is that the introduction of The Great Railway Show helped to expand the Thomas universe and show the rest of the world interacting with Sodor and vice-versa, even if only for a short period of time. It adds to the grandness of the world.

I also really like Thomas's arc in this movie. With how often he gets picked on for being a "little engine" over the course of the series, it's no wonder the guy's a little self conscious. If the narrator called me "short and stumpy" three times in a row I'd be pretty self-conscious too lol. But jokes aside, I did like seeing Thomas have conflict with this part of his identity. His verses in "You Can Only Be You" really made me feel for him, and I loved being able to see him finally come around at the end.

And of course, we can't talk about The Great Race without mentioning

HOW PRETTY JAMES'S DECORATIVE PAINTWORK IS!!!

LOOK AT HIM! LOOK AT MY PRETTY BOY! GAZE UPON HIS BEAUTY AND HIS SPLENDIDNESS!!!

And you know what? I'm gonna say it. James deserved to win Best Decorated Engine. Sorry not sorry RAJIV! But they don't call me the Red Engine Apologist for nothing! My pookie deserved to win!

One of these days I've got to do humanized versions of James's and Emily's looks from this movie. I can see it very clearly in my head but I also want to, um, draw other characters HAHAHAHA

Anyway, TLDR, The Great Race was an amazing movie with a killer soundtrack, great story, and a concept that appeals to ME SPECIFICALLY. I also genuinely think it would adapt very well into a stage musical (similar in visual style to the Spongebob musical). I have a clear vision in my head for what it would look like but unfortunately I don't have the money nor resources to make it a reality so it would just stay in my head. But just know that every time I watch this movie I am actively thinking about how I would hypothetically adapt this to the stage.

I''ve spent WAY too much time rambling about The Great Race but yeah, there's your answer.

Also if you're curious, here's every Thomas movie I've watched so far ranked from favorite to least favorite.

The Great Race (obviously)

Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure (Thomas had a great arc in this one, "Never Overlook a Little Engine" was fun, and visuals are spectacular. Solid movie but it can't beat the campiness of The Great Race)

The Adventure Begins (Solid movie. The other two are just more fun imo)

Tale of the Brave (It was a good movie and I probably would have appreciated it more if I watched it in High Quality. But unfortunately I can't stand Kerry Shale James and so I chose to watch a grainy upload on YouTube instead.)

Journey Beyond Sodor (I'm sorry to my one mutual (you know who you are) who said this was their favorite movie. But unfortunately, in my opinion, the songs do not slap as hard as in The Great Race)

[georgegraphys]

Warning : Unprofessional unverified talks as I am not Mercedes nor have 10 masters degrees. Fragile snowflakes that got their heart shattered by opinion differences are not welcomed. An opinionated talk.

I'm just gonna back track on what happens here. What started this all sudden China PR campaign of this douyin acc thing and my whole summary of thoughts. If you're new here and you haven't had the time to scroll through my PR talks regarding this whole 2024 George PR cooking class. Let me summarize you here (this lacks the recent targa florio updates, mercedes vision one eleven, etc. i haven't updated it further)

Again, I'd like to say. I am not a Mercedes Benz PR team member. I am not a professional. I am just someone who worked in a similar field who analyzes, plans, and strategizes PR agendas like this. Of course the very first time I posted about this whole theory it's just a goofy hypothetical tweet of "what IFs"

This was just minutes after George opened his douyin acc btw. Something just struck me like "Huh? Why bother opening an account for a race that lasts 2-3 days?". As someone who worked in PR myself, these things are not a good move. Like why the hell open a douyin account? If I were Mercedes, I'd open a tiktok account for George that could be used beyond China GP. That was my mindset back then until I watched the video again and I realized George saying things like his F1 journey throughout the season. And that's the part where it struck me.

Now why does it intrigue me? Douyin is a platform that is only available in China (or probably in Macau/HK/Taiwan too, idk sorry) and to sign up for Douyin you need a Chinese phone number or ID card verification. It makes me think that maybe Mercedes pulled some strings? To be able to get George in Douyin? But until then my thoughts are just goofy ahh what if lol. Then suddenly Douyin Sports starts posting about George on their account and George makes a specific video greeting for Douyin Sports. Now this kind of confirms my idea? Because douyin sports rarely post international athletes unless you are on the calibre of probably Marc Marquez or Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, other than that they just posted about the chinese athletes. Afterwards, there was the Mercedes Benz official account commenting here and there and I just went "maybe this isn't a joke"

For now, it seems that the douyin account is also posting personal things about George like his post with Carmen, his family and friends and more. Well surprising considering I thought they're going to be full racing and business because at first i thought that douyin acc pr move was solely for the company because they were promoting lots of 63 series that George will probably lead the promotions later. I didn't expect them to actually build something that is also personal to George? Like his brand image? As they also involve posts about his beloved ones and not pure business. Also Mercedes even invited a LOCAL press to directly interview George one-on-one??? I'm surprised by that. But this is honestly good for George!

I know i've seemingly been all positive about this but just to let you know, I had doubts lol. Like I thought this wasn't gonna last this long. I thought it was just to keep the China GP hype for 2 weeks and it's all gone and dusted. But it didn't. Turns out they even have these 3 days posting patterns which not only intrigues me but also intrigues the chinese audience. It brought them to pay attention to George and question things like "oh he is still posting??" "who posts for him??" "he's using douyin actively??". I honestly expect lower than this and thought that the account would be another vessel to promote Mercedes cars to the chinese audience but wow... also building his individual brand images? I did not expect that.

I might have been able to guess the purpose of the douyin account making but I could never know what they were cooking. It baffles me. You might not understand but in that one single douyin account, there's a social media team or at least one person handling it and a PR planning over it. The posts were planned, it has posting patterns and it shows that it was scheduled, the subtitles, the songs (even though it's shitty), and the editing. The editing specifically appeals to the chinese audience. And I cannot wrap my mind on the reason why. These have lots of efforts poured into it and the supportive Mercedes Benz account? Unusual. Because they usually gave 0 fucks in other platforms. You need to acknowledge that this is

a) A whole ass PR planning with the approval of the company because it represents George and even also builds his individual brand value and image to the chinese audience/target market

b) No doubt Mercedes pulled some string to get his account to douyin and have the app promote his account

c) This stretched out longer than i would ever expect. My expectations weren't low but it's realistic. This thing is a bucket full of effort and planning inside for it to stretch until this long.

Now this part gets a bit sensitive. So again WARNING that this is highly SPECULATIVE and we're PREDICTING not saying that this is true. "But ari you're so jobless for all of this guessing. No one does this except the obsessed ones" This is what I and some people who worked in the PR sectors do. We look at a company's PR planning and make a guess out of it. Why? To counter their PR strategy of course. For the sake of competitions. And it's a REAL PAID JOB. But anyways

My guess is that maybe in the future George will be used as some sort of representative or ambassador for the chinese market? As for now, Mercedes Benz's objective and target market is the Chinese market. Their collaboration with Denza and BAIC, Beijing Benz subsidiary making China specialized vehicles, joint cooperation with chinese universities like Tsinghua and more.

Not to mention that this whole Mercedes in China field trip is not just any other field trip. It is state backed. Germany and China seem to be building this whole bestie relationship when it comes to automotive, technology, engineering, etc. Judging by how it's state backed and which means things won't get "nahhh okay byeeee" just anytime, that means this would then be a long term thing?

I'm just connecting two points here. A) Mercedes strong ambitions on the venture in China (Not every automotive manufacturer is aboard on this idea btw. Stellantis doesn't) B) George's sudden PR campaign in China. I look at those two and suddenly 🧐🧐, maybe it might be related??? I understand that Mercedes could use chinese ambassadors to promote Mercedes in China. Of course they're more popular and relevant in China than George since he isn't Chinese. But to promote China and Beijing Benz outside, they need a guy too yk? And that guy MAY be George Russell with all this PR cooking up behind him.

Again this is just a silly goofy guess based on EVIDENCES and PROOFS shown. As much as I love to waffle, I don't lie about these things unlike Toto. But also, don't trust me on it and take my words seriously?? Because I ain't Mercedes 😁😁 🤷‍♀️

Lastly, George's linguistic journey is basic at its finest. ciao, bonjour, JEL-AND-WAGEN, adios, hola, konnichiwa. For him to suddenly be SITTING DOWN reading a written script of his introduction in Chinese??? To be seriously sat and memorizing "da jia hao, wo shi qiao zhi la sai er-" means something 😭😭😭 don't tell me someone did not write that down for him and tell him to memorize that like an asian parent would sign their kid to a mandarin course.

[naranjapetrificada]

Consider this your opportunity to be an Astrology Bitch and go off about Leo Stede!

(signed, a Virgo sun, Cancer moon, Capricorn rising who simultaneously is and is not an Astrology Bitch, more of a Tarot Bitch tbh)

Okay! You asked for it lol.

I should start by saying that I'm an August Leo sun. Stede is a July Leo, as confirmed by the show:

July Leos are...different somehow? It's not a bad thing and it's not their fault, and if anybody else comes for them we August Leo's will throw down for our siblings, but there's something about the vibes! Maybe it's the Cancer proximity, idk. If anything my anecdata suggests that they're more well adjusted than the rest of us. 🦁❤️🦁

Anyway, I immediately sat up and noticed when they cut to the gravestones because it's second nature for me as an Astrology Gay. Obviously I didn't know Stede at the time and I don't actually know what went down as the character was developed, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if I learned that at least one person in the writers room was a fellow Astrology Gay.

So I completely forgot about his birthdate because a) ADHD and b) swooniest romance I'd ever seen, but I started thinking about it again when I showed up like a year late to the fandom and saw people talk about whether they were Ed coded or Stede coded. I am heavily, heavily Stede coded for neurodivergent reasons, but he also exhibits certain Very Leo traits that I recognized immediately.

Leo stereotypes:

Let's get the stereotypes out of the way because while they do apply sometimes (especially for Stede), there's no need to rehash them in detail.

Leadership, which he struggles with at first but a) takes up the mantle of it anyway and b) improves enough that by the end of the season the crew that wanted to mutiny saves his life.

Good hair. Nuff said.

The man has an auxiliary wardrobe for fucks sake.

His "theatrical instincts are finely honed" and while Izzy says it to encourage the fuckery, it's not a lie.

The Revenge

If an 18th century Leo was going to custom build a pirate ship and money was no object, they would 1000% build the Revenge. I could see arguing that a Taurus might build something similar, but honestly I'm not sure a Taurus would become a pirate by choice. Maybe a Taurus might build like, a pleasure yacht or something. A Libra might build a ship that's as good-looking as the Revenge but sharing expensive tastes isn't enough to convince me either. Stede's money allowed him to build and decorate luxuriously, but plenty of rich people used to comfort didn't have ships like the Revenge. As Nigel says during his tour, it's just so incredibly him.

Now for some feelings stuff:

Leos love it when other people are happy, and when we can be involved in fostering that at all for people we care about we are ON IT. Stede wants to create space for others to get what they need to make that happen. Literally in the first episode he talks about the Revenge as somewhere for his crew to work on their trauma and communicate their feelings.

The above is also an extension of Stede's instinctive generosity. Canon doesn't tell us where Ed got his clothes for the French boat party in episode 5, but given that Stede has an auxiliary wardrobe (which he shared with Ed almost immediately) the most likely scenario seems like he loaned (or maybe even gave!) it to Ed. Another possibility is that it was on the ship where Frenchie found his and Oluwande's outfits, but the purple jacket in particular seems very extra in a way that says "Stede" to me.

Speaking of episode 5, let's talk about the party game. Obviously the main takeaway is that Stede has enough of a handle on passive aggression to make the French assholes tear each other apart, but it's not just the passive aggression, it's in the delivery. With sufficient motivation (Ed's hurt feelings, if not his own) we see Stede command the room with confidence. He chooses his targets well. He knows just what to say to get them to agree to play the game at all. The fire wasn't part of the original plan but it shows just how powerful those hard-won skills are when he wants to apply them. (This doesn't feel like it merits its own bullet point but Leos are protective, ride-or-die friends, something else we see in this episode.)

Stede's love language, imo, is quality time. There are arguments for others (there's also a really good meta about his love language causing miscommunication with our touchy-feely boy Ed, if I can find the link I'll edit) but quality time seems the most appropriate to me. Another part of the whole generosity of spirit thing is that he seems to enjoy what a friend of mine called "engineering experiences" for people i.e. crafting activities and jam sessions for the crew. The most obvious of these is the treasure hunt for Ed, which of course comes out of his fear of Ed leaving, but it's also a way for them to spend time together. I'm not at all surprised that a lonely, bullied kid would grow up to value quality time.

I would also extend this to the clearly routine (but still extravagant) breakfast for two that we see Calico Jack crashing in episode 8. Not to mention the first breakfast he and Ed ever share up on the maintop in episode 4. It's not fancy, but he wakes Ed up to share in that moment because he's enjoying the sunrise and the marmalade, and I can't think of anything more Leo than enjoying something then immediately wanting to share it because someone else might enjoy it too.

Stede's not perfect of course, despite all those seemingly positive things I just said. In the way of some Leos he is frequently thoughtless, up to and including when he didn't make to the dock. I can't speak for every Leo but I have definitely accidentally flirted with/been read as flirting with people before, whether I was attracted to them or not. And yeah his quarters are nice but he could have used some of that space for more crew quarters, right? And how could a Leo possibly misread "what makes Ed happy is you" as badly as he did?

Well I may be an Astrology Binch but I mostly like it (and anything else that puts personalities into discrete groups) as an analysis tool. It's just a fun lens to examine behaviors through, IRL and with fictional characters. Also, the show is clearly trying to examine things like trauma and self-loathing in ways that are gonna inform character behavior way more than a hypothetical astrology enthusiast in the (admittedly pretty queer) writers room. But the vibes? The vibes are so there.

[karizard-ao3]

My reactions to Evangelion episode 17: Fourth Child

I regret ever doubting Misato. It was not her who was sus, it was NERV.

Actually, I did wonder if the Angel was trying to communicate with him.

The need for "heart" to operate the Evas is stirring some things in my head.

Toji is a good brother.

ope, my kid is home. I'll save this as a draft and try to resume later.

Okay, it's later. My kid is asleep and I'm squeezing in an episode before I also go to bed. I'm just going to start from the beginning. I think I could probably actually watch this with him because the content doesn't seem too mature for him, however he would not be able to restrain himself from talking through the thing and I would annoy him by pausing the show if I have long notes to make, so he'll just have to wait to see if I feel I must do a second watch after the first one.

I like that Misato is protecting Shinji from this interrogation.

The Angels are EVOLVING?

So I've been thinking about how Adam appeared to be a fetus in a suitcase when Kaji brought him to Gendo and how he was called the first Angel when Kaji showed him to Misato fully grown, so I wonder if instead of dying they just do a little Steven Universe thing and revert back to an embryo? Or actually maybe comparing them to a phoenix is more apt. Also, I did find it weird when the lava Angel pupae looked so similar to fetus Adam but I also take it for granted that all embryos/ early stage fetuses look the same no matter what species they are, so I didn't think too deeply about it. That should have been my first clue that Adam was an Angel and not a person.

What is the S2 drive?

So the base or whatever vanished. It disappeared into the Dirac Sea. Was it the S2 drive and human error that caused this vaporization of sorts or was it an Angel attack?

The dummy plug is very interesting to me. The Eva needs to feel like there is a pilot to sync with. Is it because the implanted personalities long to have a soul again? Or am I just thinking weird things because I'm tired? lol

Is that actually Rei in the tube? I guess it is.

Ritsuko, why so creepy?

Asuka being mean again. Oh, young lady.

Does class rep like Toji??

Rei's got medication she takes.

Rei's reaction to Shinji cleaning up after her was so cute.

She's never said thank you before?

Here we go with some Garden of Eden talk. Is Tokyo-3 the Eden? Maybe it's a space station for when they destroy the Earth.

The Marduk Institute doesn't exist? And Shinji's school seems to be involved. Maybe all the kids there potential pilots.

"But I'm not a girl" Shinji, I love you.

Kaji is a watermelon farmer.

I wonder what traits they select for when choosing pilots.

Kensuke is so nosy,

The birth rate has been falling. Hmmm.

She's offering to make you a lunch, dumbass.

I'm changing Asuka's name to Karen.

In Conclusion

I feel like things are starting to come together but I'm still no closer to figuring out exactly what the secrets here are. Soon, soon.

Toji being the Fourth Children is tugging on my brain because I feel like if I could figure out what about him makes him the candidate they've been looking for then I would have a much better idea of what's going on with the Evas. I had thought there may be some kind of psychic element to this but I haven't seen any signs that they are being evaluated for psychic skills. It seems the "heart" is the most important part, but what determines that there is enough heart? All the pilots are so different, except for that they all do have some kind of trauma. Is that the trick? I don't seem to recall any mention of Toji's parents being killed but he just mentioned that there's no one at home to make a lunchbox for him anymore, so maybe he has lost them. Shinji lost his mother and his dad's a deadbeat, Asuka mentioned she has no one left to care about (if I remember right), and Rei is also alone from what I can tell and may have lost her loved ones horrifically. We know she has no one to make her feel connected to the world with all the suicidal sounding stuff she was saying that upset Shinji. Maybe she was the one who said she had no one left? Could have been both girls. So, I guess now I'm wondering if Toji's sister has died. Anyway, I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

I have a feeling the dummy plug is going to be a disaster.

That's about all I'm coming up with right now. I have to get to bed or I will regret it in the morning and all day tomorrow, so I will try to watch another episode tomorrow night, but maybe earlier in the evening so I can fit in a couple. We'll see. It all depends on a certain dependent of mine and how fast he goes to bed.

[thesherrinfordfacility]

orwellian's a great word for it actually. "appropriate raiments will be provided" is the most disturbing thing in the whole series and i stand by that. this interpretation of heaven has definitely coloured my reading of the show especially how i see the fall so it's cool to see someone who agrees!

hard agree that pure coercion would be a total cop out. it's just that he does seem nervous so i do think he's aware of a certain degree of potential danger. i initially thought the metatron must have let slip an implication somewhere but i much prefer your idea that he suspected something. and well. i've been saying basically since season 2 came out that accepting the offer doesn't equal having completely fallen for it. will come back to that in my thoughts on the whole mess that was that domestic.

the blanket permission to come scream at you is greatly appreciated and i'll definitely make use of it; i love this kind of media dissection and speculation. 🦭

(p.s. i did indeed end up making the chekov's list since my ocd never can leave well enough alone lol. brace yourself: incoming!)

hihi again, 🦭 anon!!!✨

yes!!! in the context of 1984, especially, that line really is ominous; obviously there is a fine line between a corporate uniform and dictated dress, especially as the only scene where we see all of the angels look the same (iirc) is the waiting platoon in s1. otherwise, all of the angels do have individual dress/style (but similar enough to show belonging), even in the job scene, even if certain elements of their designs indicate shared rank or moral alignment... but the implication of subjugation made by clothes being specifically chosen for the prospective mind-wiped gabriel is... interesting.

and of course - aziraphale's outfit is very different to that of the other angels, in it being actual human clothing, and showing unashamed signs of wear and comfort. i remarked in a post that in job especially, his jobes (job robes) are very similar in aesthetic to that of michael and gabriel compared to say muriel's. could be that it's the appropriate dress of a principality rank, but im not... wholly convinced.

anyway, let's get on with your list!!! a herculean effort, truly!!! hope you don't mind, but a) ive copied and pasted it under the cut, because b) id love to use it as a checklist for myself (and of course if anyone else does!) re: things ive talked about, or indeed things that i have Thoughts on... or even things that i haven't thought to talk about and will probably look into doing so in the future!!!✨✨

episode 1:

starting with the big one there's the pre-fall sequence. the fall itself. talked a lot about these two things/the whole theme in general, found under the #the fall/the great war spec tag

maggie's spelling under the #we need to talk about maggie theory tag - babygirl is an angel, im convinced of it

"what's the point of it all" i mean, kinda talked about this in connection with stuff under the #god is dead theory tag, and in a couple of different asks; mainly that god doesn't give two hoots about any of it, and just wanted to give everyone and everything free will - and they have to work out the consequences for themselves (whilst she throws in a few chaotic sprinkles to keep things interesting)

shax's insider information about heaven ive definitely not discussed shax at all really, and i definitely have a few things id like to work out... main one being, for me, how she went from wondering where aziraphale was in ep3, to suddenly knowing how to exactly triangulate his position in ep4 finally talked about her in the #shax meta tag!!!

the demons being on half rations didn't really think to look at this!!! that could be interesting, especially with the short-staffed comment... someone did put to me that bc the apocalypse failed, everyone on earth continues dying and adding to the population of the Damned, so the work vs demon ration is steadily getting outweighed... but hm, could be something more than that!

"something terrible" because are we sure we're sure that that was about the stuff we've already seen you know, i wondered this too after ep6!!! it was a very interesting choice of words for me, bc whilst yes gabriel's fate was looking pretty shit, the line was almost a bit... well, over-announced? they kept repeating it? like, gabriel said he had to bring the box to aziraphale/the bookshop otherwise something terrible would happen... but why specifically the shop? is it just because aziraphale is the only angel/sanctuary on earth? is it because he was drawn to an angel that's also fallen for a demon? is it because aziraphale is simply kind? i don't trust that it's any of these explanations at all (or maybe all of them and another besides)... and tbh i think god has something to do with it. another speculation for the to-do list!!!

the book of life this one ive remarked on a fair bit under the #book of life theory tag, but it's fairly disjointed from other bits and pieces - tbh i probably need to do a long post at some point as to where all my theories etc join up... bc for the moment all of them are full of loopholes

michael and uriel's power politics oooooh i literally don't have a single scooby on this... id have to think on this a little more

the very highlighted matchbox quote this one ive had sat in the drafts for ages bc i can't quite parse it out - where does leviathan come into it? is it a reference to crowley-as-aziraphale spitting fire during the execution? why would it be on a matchbox of a bloody pub? is it a clue from god? is god linked to jim/gabriel somehow? gahd this one is still giving me a headache kinda? wrote about this - here, no tag for this specifically - and im still not fully satisfied that is the meaning of the matchbox but i think (hope) it might be somewhere near the mark?

1650 i speculated (or, well, dreamt up a hc) as to what this potential flashback could entail in a LWA response somewhere - in any case, give me the boys in cromwellian england and give it to me Now

the 25 lazarii miracle my batshit theory (and yet it makes complete sense to me, i stand by it) is in my #25 lazarii theory tag

episode 2:

heaven and hell working together as a single good cop bad cop system this is similarly stagnating in my drafts at the moment!!! but it's a bit of a mindbender for me bc it means i need to pick apart what everything thinks the job/satan bet was actually about... basically, i think it all comes back to understanding god's will - and all of them (yes, even crowley) have it wrong because imo god is completely amoral and is just the strongest advocate for free will... weirdly, i think the person that had the most right of it was gabriel.

"forces them under an awning together" god i hope this happens in s3... i mean there's no way it won't, right? and so many juicy possibilities (for my money itll be the bandstand, but equally would love, like, the stoop of the bookshop, and then have it mirrored again under like the porch of the south downs cottage) 🥺

gabriel's eyes glowing statements this tbh harks back to what i posted under the #25 lazarii theory tag - definitely something weird going on, and i have a gut feeling the boys accidentally made it even worse lmao

tricking heaven with a sleight of hand this is also going to require a bit more thought!!!

episode 3:

aziraphale's chekhov's diaries see im not sure how important i truly think theyre going to be, but if we go by the prominent influence of the crow road, it definitely has to be a s3 plot device, right? the only thing im scared of is that aziraphale's memory gets wiped, or he goes missing, and the books are key to getting back his memory/finding him... hmmm

crowley's consciousness extending into the bentley i think the crank is certainly important, even if just symbolic of his power - uses it to create nebulae, it survived the s1 explosion, etc. i do think bentley has its own kind of personality, but think it's borne out of proximity, use, and influence of her demon owner... obviously i could be entirely wrong, but i kinda hope it's more that he made her, and her allegiance as a sentient being is with him (and of course aziraphale by extension), mainly bc i want something to look after crowley... but then is it more poetic that the bentley is basically just him, and representative of him finding comfort in himself? idk tbh but she's a bad bitch and i love her

general resurrection themes ive talked a fair bit about the second coming aspect, but not about the resurrection and last judgement so much, so this is one for the list

gabriel's glowing eyes statements part 2 as above (and i realise that you might be talking about what he specifically says, not the general thing itself, 🦭 anon, but in a way what is being said is fairly self-explanatory imo, but why is the heftier question)

shax can sense gabriel in a way the archangels couldn't i personally don't think there's much by way of implication in the method in which she senses him (ie... smell? vs michael's weird sixth sense), but i do think there is something about the fact they can sense him at all... talked about in #25 lazarii spec and the #shax meta tag!!!

"it's always too late" oh god 💀 i had the most batshit theory about this that i don't even want to talk about BUT im with you that it's... an odd line. i love that it potentially references line in the book about crowley's watch being set to hell's time, which is set at "too late", but beyond that... not entirely sure why the line was said or said so... blatantly? feels like something obvious would explain it

rumours that aziraphale and crowley were an item that so far don't seem justified based on what hell knew. rumours that apparently had no major consequences for crowley despite one harmless photo warranting a legion to collect him [screams at 1941 truther sign] yeah this is how it read to me too, 🦭! something definitely happened after that dinner, and im not saying a move was made (and potentially witnessed by a couple of errant nazi zombies) but i think a move was made (and witnessed by a couple of errant nazi zombies) - #1941 spec tag

the literal chekhov's gun in the bookshop this one has flummoxed me, but i did read a speculation about continuing the 1941 flashback today, which was utter genius (and so much better than what i managed to dream up in the above tag), and suggested the derringer will make an appearance in a fight-ish scenario in that scene... which is frankly bloody inspired tbh, and im very much convinced by

the miracle blocker oooooh i don't have a dedicated tag for this but i definitely talked about it in a post under the #sanctuary/bentley theory tag!!! i think it was potentially a chekhov's gun that we didn't see get fired

sleight hand to trick hell probably one to look at in hand with the one above about tricking heaven

the zombies just running around london kinda as i said above tbh, not sure what'll happen to them afterwards but presumably a grisly end being eaten and pooped out by a spider

1941 full stop. we have not seen the last of that night. goddamn right we havent [skips around the 1941 truther sign]

episode 5:

the lack of demons available for the attack pretty much what i said above in ep1 about being short staffed bc the Damned population keeps increasing... maybe? still one to look at in more detail though!!!

"i know. do it anyway" "i know. looking at where the furniture isn't" not necessarily in reference to these quotes specifically, but in the general context - discussed this (and potential crowley memory loss) in the #the fall/the great war spec and #book of life theory tags

"if it happens twice it might seem like an institutional problem" oh. OH. THIRD EYE HAS OPENED. because we know two things, right? gabriel didnt fall/wasnt intended to, so the 'happens twice' isn't realised. and heaven does have an institutional problem, practically embodies the term. so if this is foreshadowing. does aziraphale fall. oh no. Oh No (ive sort of discussed this in #scapegoat theory tag but that was strictly pre-eden context...) this however has actually just made me realise that this is a chekhov's gun literally pointed at aziraphale's head... shitshitshitshitshjthka

mrs cheng's weird look across the street see this is on my list but waaaay down it. think she could be a demon. will work on it at some point edit: talked a little bit about this in the #shax meta tag, but possibly needs a dedicated post, idk

nina and maggie's semi immunity to miracles so the bit where aziraphale can't miracle them? that to me is potentially the same explanation as the miracle blocker post (like it all connects). maggie is more immune than normal to the ball miracle? see #we need to talk about maggie theory tag. as for nina... im still not sure on. idk if she's a demon (which for me is a Thought if we consider that hell are short-staffed; she could be one of Many) but it feels a little on the nose... one for the list edit: talked a little bit about nina in the #shax meta tag, but definitely needs a separate post at some point

shax saying the shop isn't an embassy anymore but the demons still unable to get in i didn't think of it from this angle, but i think my theory still stands - under the #sanctuary/bentley theory tag

nina and maggie's immunity to miracles part 2 oh oops - see above

episode 6:

maggie being able to invite the demons into the shop i think she's an angeeeeeeellllll (see #we need to talk about maggie tag)

the speed at which the portal opens and it's potential as a means of spying my latest galaxy brain moment (i hope) - #sanctuary/bentley theory tag

haloes and the potential consequences of blowing them up this one is in the #halo theory tag

crowley opening the files not quite sure what you mean by this one, 🦭!!! do you mean about his rank? definitely tried parsing this particular headscratcher in the #AWCW spec tag

heaven was trying to restart armageddon in a way that seems awfully unofficial oooooohhh.... haven't looked at it this way, but definitely will be!!! might link in with #god is dead theory stuff, but will need more exploring!!!

saraqael having their own agenda honestly saraqael is my newest bad bitch (gn) and if my #saraqael spec is even halfway true, im going to explode i love them

"i'm the only first order archangel in the universe" *camera cuts to crowley* kinda talk about this in the #AWCW spec tag but since neil cremated the lucifer theory (rip) ive kinda left this aspect alone... tbh i don't think he was as important as he's set out to have been

"i'm the only first order archangel in the universe" full stop. statement's plenty suspicious on its own too. this is....... potentially very intriguing

memory wiping as just a thing heaven does when someone disobeys i need to reconcile #book of life theory with this tbh - like, the focus on memory is so strong in s2 that i strongly believe it has connection to falling... at which point, where does gabriel demotion/mem wipe punishment fit in? and where does saraqael fit in, too?

muriel having the same kind of position gabriel was going to be demoted to vaguely looked at this in #book of life theory tag posts i think, especially in reference to how their potential punishments (in muriel's case) mirror each other

heaven and hell are technically at war now. its not like anyone with authority actually called it off danced around this in the #halo theory tag, in reference to aziraphale declaring this new war, and yet they've been at war for a long time? yes the reflection of it being a cold war but still... interesting to think about especially when framed like this

it's possible to remove your essence and store it elsewhere definitely need to explore the possibilities and implications of this at some point, but the suggestion i made in the #25 lazarii theory post somewhat starts to look at this

hell is understaffed as already mentioned above

the shax furfur alliance not quite sure what to think about this, and whether it necessarily means anything more than it's put across (ie just that they are the danger duo of hell in s3?) idk tbh i just need to look at them both as individual characters a bit more first #shax meta tag!!!

the many strange things that could indicate something going on in the last fifteen minutes god.... just anything in the #feral domestic/final fifteen meta tag tbh

"does anyone ever ask for death" idk whether or not to take this as meaning anything deeper than metatron just idly thinking "hmmm aziraphale could refuse my coffee, refuse a chat... at which point ill probably need to destroy him etc. hey, i wonder if anyone - instead of coffee - has ever actually asked for death? funny name for a coffee shop"... and possibly a double meaning meant by Nina saying 'everything else was taken'?

saraqael being the only one other than crowley who recognises the metatron and their reaction well theres my school of thought that saraqael is potentially closer to metatron that we maybe thought (#saraqael spec tag), but then again - and this exact sentence just reminded me - i think in this particular instance, both saraqael and crowley have just come fresh from watching the trial, so that's why they both remember metatron... which begs the question of what happened between the trial and the final fifteen to make them forget? hmmm

almond syrup imo, #omelas theory

the possible miracle chime ehhhh i know i wrote about this but im still like 50/50 on it... but it fits my theory (in the #feral domestic/final fifteen tag) so im rolling with it - i think there might be a chime and i think it might be a failed miracle to change the coffee

the metatron and crowley seeming to have some kind of history lmao anything in #metatron spec or indeed #the fall/the great war spec tags tbh

aziraphale's peculiar mannerisms im getting so lazy with these responses now 🦭 anon im so sorry, but again recently speculated in the #feral domestic/final fifteen meta tag

the way the conversation between aziraphale and the metatron is only reported and very strangely transitioned in and out of as above

the nothing to see here shooting of the kiss this one...

i know ng said it was a continuity error but. the time skip on the clocks ...and this one ive looked at in the #time-stop theory tag, and im the same - not trusting continuity error on this... not just yet

the something's up vibes of metatron. the general scheming and manipulativeness. the framing as the wizard of oz. the colour scheme and the dice on his tie. the sigh of relief in the elevator lol #metatron spec

the credits scene i haven't really gone into this in any detail and tbh idk if it needs it - i think it's pretty reflective of some stuff ive talked about in the #aziraphale meta and the #feral domestic/final fifteen meta tags

plus special mention: not technically in the episode but the distinctly ominous madonna/crucifixion promo photos aaaaaaaand this one is in the #mary/pieta spec tag

again 🦭 anon im really sorry it got a little lazy towards the end!!! but im very, very grateful that you put this all in a list, because ive definitely got some stuff in mind that id like to parse out!!! and as ever - more than happy to scream about things so pop on back if you feel the need to scream with me!!!✨

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

annotated DBD!!! episode FIVE

NIKO'S VOICE in the thingy!

"dyou wanna kiss monty" *cue charles face*

YOU CAN HEAR CHARLES' MOM CRYING OH NOOO

TNN'S SCREAM LMAOO

not the David/Charles paralells

Edwin. I think he really is trying to make a joke there. At least he can read the room now.

Eddie's maaad

Well I guess Charles can't read the room

how did he know??

also. ghosts don't sleep so they don't have nightmares. not important just interesting.

this scene is actually so sweet. more breakups on screen should be this sweet.

Who are the Taurus and Aries in the group?

I blame the guy from School Spirits for making me trust these assholes.

is that the University of Dublin?

it was exactly the plan.

they were gonna go to school together awww

they didn't even get split up after dying..

"they're just like us" "they're just best mates" Charles what are you saying

These guys REALLY don't want to do a seagull thing, huh.

MUSIC

only partly relevant but there's a US flag behind Niko as she mails the letter

wait where have I heard the music before?? the thing that plays when Niko sees Maxine's letter?

The music that plays after the chapter title!!!

the "Pathway to Knowledge" sign has a bunch of circles in it

Niko is so dramatic the way she moves omg

Charles: haha the cliff thing was good right?

Edwin: *sighs in oh fuck* *changes the subject*

Charles: Oh so we're talking about THIS now are we?

Also I think it's really cool for a teen show to have characters this excited about kissing. Like, I feel like lots of shows only have teens who are much more involved, and not everyone is into that.

Niko-ass question

the way he talks and moves when he says "I felt it up here" (in his head) wtfff he's so cute

aw you've been holding on to that one

the tone of voice when he says "of course"

AND now we're back to these two

the music here is so cute

interruption trope

Niko's smile when she looks at them all <2

Interesting that keeping them alive is what gets Niko to finally tell these two to be nice...

I love her voice when she says "outlook not so good"

Also it's interesting that Niko checks the 8-ball so frequently. She wants to know when she will die. (she won't tho!)

ew that mushroom thing CANNOT smell good

Also don't mushrooms have roots?? that soil looks shallow.

"I was supposed to see Edwin today, but of course they're off on another stupid case" he sounds like a caricature of himself. I love him.

actually I think his shirt might actually have a car on it

the way he's sittingggg

maybe you wanna try.... harder

why was that so hard for her to say? Also I feel like there's a double meaning here..

Monty perks up his little head IN GONNA DIEE

I don't know what that stereotype teenage tone of voice is called, but Monty has it every time he talks to Esther and it's hilarious

DON'T YOU DARE MENTION THAT BLOOD GODDESS NAME

There are little plants in jars on the windowsill

ew she grabs his face. threats of violence

So they don't remember even leaving the party, huh

Edwin is so serious lol

Also have they NEVER been to Maren's house?? In a different memory, Brad was totally at Maren's. Why did he never see the tree until he died?

I wonder if Maren only painted the eyes after hearing about her pictures.. as if she could feel people looking at her. That's pretty sad to think about.

no bro the eyes are not part of the bark

Brills? Really?

Charles has his Doom Patrol coat but Edwin literally didn't even change clothes

Why is that girl even talking to a "reporter" then?? do you think a reporter will be impressed by your drug use? do you think she will care if you can't give her information?

he wants to be so cool with the glasses

I remember that Jenny said a similar skeletons line at one point, maybe with the letters?? I'll have to recheck my notes!

why does this mascot bitch care??

THE KNIVES

so assuming Jenny is being literal that every edible bachelorette in town has cats, we can assume that there are fewer than 146 single women in all of Port Townsend.

her lil look round the room

Does Niko have a pompom stuck to her nail???

maggot-infested!?

Trawler is a bad name for a newspaper

we don't actually have time to see Charles face when Richy mentions the supposed suicide pact

Crystal: I talked to Maren, and (serious words)

Edwin, looking at Charles: 👁👄👁

Charles' eyebrow raise at the word "hand jobs" LMAOO

she really said ur 2 pussy 2 kill ppl. not me tho

MUSIC!!!

and for the whole rest of the episode, we never find out more about Shelby apparently stalking Brad

OH. MY. FUCK.

rule number one: if she sends you anonymous floral stationary letters from a typewriter, YOU are not the over-the-top crazy one.

is there a board on the wall with three clocks???

He rly said "ur too hot and jock-like to converse with her"

she died in her blue dragon tracksuit.

Those two REALLY like doing that creepy teleport thing, huh.

Also they totally ignore Crystal for this entire interaction

"can fuel a hyste- can change a ghost" look who's on his misogyny redemption arc

nevermind

at least he's being all business and actually wants to get to the bottom of it

I don't know what to say exactly, but I love the entire Crystal-Charles interaction after the Shelby thing

oh yeah, and the eggshells line! I said that was important!

what does a peacock feather tattoo mean??

"run" sure. totally not stalking.

I think this is the first time in the series that Jenny makes a joke. She really was opening up.

the way when Maren mentions adderall, Charles looks down like 'damn it' and Edwin is like "hmmm"

perhaps we should follow up with this 'Molly' character

Also I kinda do wanna hear the molly story now. what exactly was going on?

why don't you want to be seen with her, Maren? because you don't want her death to trace back to you?

Edwin is already a little suspicious of Maren...

yes Edwin, we all care about her bathroom.

there's. a fucking doll shoe glued to her photo wall??

that is a weird fuckin place to put a light switch

the frickin. lean in front of the closet.

wait there's a ballerina thing!! like Isolde from the comics!

random round red lantern on the dresser. sure.

there are lights on by the closet, but none by the bed and none of the overheads. is that weird, or am I weird?

he just fuckin. breaks it open. I guess Maren knows less about the killing biz than Esther.

Thank gods Crystal has the sense to not drink that!

Do you think they have Maren a green phone case just so we could tell hers apart?

The way she doesn't even realize what she was doing until it was over..

pk but why tf did they go out of their way to write ""desire"" into the script?? "I've got zero desire to tell them" NOBODY TASKS LIKE THAT

why is there one random really bright light??

As far as I know, nobody told Crystal about Edwin's death, right?? Did she figure it out when they were talking to TNN or something?

"cutting meat can be really cathartic"

dragon tattoo??

what's her ear tattoo?? if anyone has a tattoo guide for Jenny lmk

your oversized nightshirt

she can just accidentally see into Jenny's THIRD FLOOR window from that close by in the alley and see what she's watching??

Good for Jenny, she is always straight up and says what she feels

I LOVE the backlighting bc even though this isn't a cartoon, Machine has such a good character silhouette. the obvious cardigan and loose skirt. the chunky mary Jane's. peak character design incredible shape language, looks fantastic with the cleaver.

Jenny is alive only because Maxine tripped on some shit and impaled herself. Holy fuck.

Maxine: overturns the fucking table

Crystal: um why are there flowers in here

they met up with those guys back at the school.

your gonna what?

I love the gloved hand drawing the bag all the way closed. like why does that make it look like they're about to make out in there. also the little melody that plays at that time!!

the random mix of warm and cool lights. okay.

I love that Charles can actualy talk about his feelings now!! that, and he and Crystal made up.

Ironic. worrying about being bad is what Edwin says means you're good, so do you then have to not worry? I mean, at least he tries.

What is Charles thinking when Edwin says he's the best person he knows? does he trust Edwin's opinion on that?

"let's get you sorted first" and then that little sniff. there's so much going on there.

Edwin was being pretty courteous by not making it about himself, but he also just want ready to talk about his shit yet. Charles might feel cared for, but he also might worry that Edwin can't come to him with this stuff anymore, but he is still respectful and A)asks about Edwin's feelings and B) doesn't press the issue

David wants to give Crystal a smooth brain!? is that what he said?

Also yeah. he seems really excited to eat some dumpster fish.

She wants to kill him.

why is the fog. glowing.

I mean, trust this show to always have some random-ass light source.

WHEE

so Monty must have met Charles and Edwin near the butcher shop, then Edwin went off with Monty and Charles saw whatever the fuck happened to Crystal. Well, it must have been some other time on the way, actually, because um. Edwin editor not have left of he saw the whole. Production. going on there.

"I have something to tell you" Monty is so fucking excited :(((

"I think it best of we stop seeing eachother" WHY. It's this, like. A Yue thing? He just thinks being around Monty is too confusing to deal with?

If Edwin thinks Monty isn't in love with him, then all he's doing is saying that he's in love with Charles. So why would he want to stop seeing Monty? If he DOES know Monty likes him, why would he draw it out so long and let himself be misconstrued?

I think that Edwin changes his mind about what to say literally as he says it. New territory for him, I'm sure.

Monty's voice is so sadd when he says baggage

Do you think Monty knew that Edwin wouldn't feel him?

while you don't want things to be awkward, then what? I hate when characters get cut off. I WANNA KNOW!!!

MUSIC

the songs in this show always match the vibe PERFECTLY!

Also Monty's FACE. I always say you can tell this is his first time with people feelings because he puts them ALL THE WAY on display.

He's sad bc Edwin doesn't like him back but he's also maybe upset that he failed Esther but also scared of what Esther will think/do and probably guilty for thinking about Esther instead of Edwin but also guilty for having feelings for Edwin both because of Edwin's reaction and bc of his mission and also hurt that Edwin doesn't live him back and also blindsided because he thought otherwise and like. there's so many things going on and none of them even really occurred to him before and he's thinking up every single one in succession and you can see it on his face.

NOT THE CAT EYES

[bisluthq]

Joe def has an NDA lol and likely his close family members who were closely involved as well. Anyone who thinks otherwise is absolutely delulu. He wasn’t just a guy she dated or a friend she fell out with, he knows way too much about her, both personally and professionally, to not have one and it’s enforceable by virtue of the fact that she 100% paid him off. They were together 6 years, lives totally enmeshed, so it’s very similar to getting a divorce. He knows too much, they were too involved on both sides. Same thing happened with Ariana and Dalton, she cut him a check, they both signed, agreed to not talk about the other and it was done, as reported by TMZ. Luckily for Taylor, because they weren’t actually married, there was no divorce filings made and so, no legal paper trail that a place like TMZ could get hold of.

the major difference is Ari and Dalton had a prenup that expressly stipulated that in the event of a legal separation, neither would legally be allowed to mention the relationship ever again and that was one of the conditions for marriage. Ari didn't "pay him off" although she was more generous than the prenup dictated she be because I think she wanted to just end the whole fucking thing and get on with sucking SpongeBob's dick, but aside from her giving him a somewhat larger a cash settlement than their prenup dictated, they pretty much followed it to the letter and the "NDA" stuff was in the prenup so... it's legally enforceable because that was an agreed upon legal arrangement and is now enforceable per the divorce decree or either one can dispute the divorce decree and ask for more stuff. This, kids, is why it's good to get prenups. Ari a messy bitch but she's not dumb and her divorce went pretty smoothly all things considered BECAUSE her ass had a good fucking prenup.

Taylor and Joe may well have had a cohabitation agreement and theoretically if they followed that to the T then yes there'd be no paper trail. If either party had disputed, there would have been because they could have take the other to court for not following through on the conditions they'd set out. Theoretically, it is also indeed possible that the cohabitation agreement spelled out that in the event of a separation neither party is to mention the other ever again and that is one of the conditions for the predetermined division of assets but I kinda doubt it because if that HAD been a condition, then they shouldn't and wouldn't have done WB songs or they would need to have changed the conditions in order to do so (which is possible because they used to talk much less about each other so perhaps they edited it in order to allow public mentions but as a result like... that would still be in effect because they CAN'T go the rest of their lives and never be asked about the collabs ever again. That won't happen).

In terms of professional info, Joe most likely has signed an NDA and that would indeed be enforceable but it's got fuck all to do with their relationship. Jack A signs craptons of NDAs for professional purposes and like yes they'd be enforceable if he went from Kendrick's session to Drake's and gave him a heads up on the diss track or w/e and both dropped on the same day like you could sue Jack A's ass off for that and that's what... NDAs are for lol they're for protecting you from damages.

Here're some things an NDA cannot - just legally - protect: info that's in the public domain, info that enters the public domain through no explicit fault of the parties involved (so eg a hack of Joe's phone would not be subject to any supposed NDA), any information that can be obtained through third party or independent research cannot be included in an NDA and anything the person learned prior to the signing of the document is automatically excluded from the NDA (so like ACTUALLY if Joe had Tay's credit card number prior to signing an NDA then he'd legally be allowed to post that on the platform formerly known as Twitter - she could get him on like fraud or something but he wouldn't have broken the NDA!!!) Guys, NDAs are really not at all like how some of you talk about them.

Finally, we def don't know that she 100% paid him off lol. That's not like... a fact at all.

[thisintermezzo]

What are your favorite bits of localization in FF14? ☺️ I'm not sure if I'm asking for anything specific ... I just want to see you ramble I guess, haha! It would be a nice change from the usual "why did they leave this part out" lol. And there are valid instances where you have to question some loc choices, to be sure. But hearing that localization is your jam... I wanted to know what you love!

What a good question! I had to wait until I was on my computer to answer so I could type faster, hahaha.

I got into FFXIV specifically because of its localization, so I have a different relationship with it compared to other games I've played. I'm really interested in the nuances and challenges of game localization and had heard this one was competent, so I actually initially just bought myself the Encyclopedia Eorzea because I didn't want to play an MMO, lmao. TL;DR below!

I was really impressed with the consistency of the writing quality within the book and how clean and expansive everything was. I got super invested in the plot section of the book somewhere around the last "act" of the 1.0 story arc. (Louisoux was my original favorite FFXIV character, RIP king.) The first book covers the plot sections from the true beginning of the game (1.0) to the end of Heavensward.

I started playing because the format of the Encyclopedia Eorzea is an actual "real" encyclopedia, so it's written from the perspective of an in-world historian. It's not narrative, so I didn't get to see character dialogue, which I decided I had to know about. What do the characters talk like? How do they sound?

I watched some cutscenes (Heavensward onward only), and by then, Endwalker had a trailer out and the hype levels were high, so I decided to play the free trial and... well.

ANYWAY, WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE LOCALIZATION: HERE WE GOOOO

Mostly, I really like the direction they chose for the localization in-world -- using modes of speech fitting this type of fantasy setting, but also defining those modes of speech so that the characters all speak in their own ways.

Further, the localization team's stance on the localization is my preferred variety: they aim to provide the intended end experience. If your feelings as a player are supposed to be "wow, cool spell name!" when playing in Japanese, you should have the same experience playing in another language, even if this necessitates changing the name of something that may already be in English, etc.

They also separate things based on their... idk, in-game perspectives. Like, there's text that's canon to the game (signs your character can read, dialogue, etc. that's fully "in-world"), and then there's player interface text (menus, quest names) that you see, but the character doesn't, so they can have different localization styles for those things. I think it provides a lot of brightness and levity and helps to balance out how "heavy" the in-world text can feel in places without casual English.

I think it's all crafted with a lot of skill, charm, and honest interest, and so it's definitely one of my favorite game localizations, period.

Also, some of my favorite highly specific instances include quest names like "Quake Me Up Before You O'Ghomoro", but also heavy-hitter sections like Myst's last speech in the DRK quests and sooo many other beautifully-worded similar pieces. If I list them, this post will be like twenty more paragraphs. Sometimes I just want to say the quotes out loud so I can hear and feel the words, you know? Extremely good. I love words.)

[windvexer]

I have so many questions regarding your dieties post. How does a god say no to you? What does that look like, how does it happen? Is it a dream, a vision, a meditation? I'm obviously having a hard time conceptualizing humans being in contact with gods. How did you know you were bound to the goat footed God? (And also do you mean the devil?). And how did Hestia and Apollo come to you? How did you know it was them? Is it like talking to ghosts?

Thank you for your time. I'm just very confused lol

Hi :) Lots of valid questions here. I will say that a lot of my communication and contact came after prolonged periods of heavy investment/practice into divination and psychism. These are learned skills that anyone can pick up and practice.

This post tries to explain how I experience psychism: How I Sense And Perceive Spirits: The Browser Analogy

To me personally and specifically, here is what happened:

When working with the Hekate figurine, it was about the vibes. She never "spoke" to me on any level. I just got the vibe that she wasn't super comfortable with me. Like you know when you walk into a room and you see someone and you can just tell they don't want you to be there?

I mean yeah, we pick that up through body language and stuff. But for me, that information is imparted to me through emotional feeling. Physical feelings within my body connected to emotions.

When I walk into a room and somebody doesn't want me there, my reaction isn't, "oh, he shifted his left foot 1cm to the left and glanced down." In fact, I might not really register these behaviors in any analyzed way. Instead, I just get a weird cold sense in my tummy and I feel better when I move away.

That is what I mean by the vibes. I just felt it, in a physical emotional way. She didn't particularly care to be around me.

Odin was a very different story. So, the Goat-Footed God is a figure shrouded in mystery. In Soft Polytheism style, I've often wondered if he's actually a named god of lore. Like maybe he's actually Cernunnos, or Pan, or -- Odin!

My god does have many similarities to Odin, and one day I got deep into this rabbit hole like hey, maybe he REALLY IS Odin, I should explore this more!!

That night, I dreamed. I try to remember my dreams as a normal course of action. I dreamed that Odin and some other Nordic gods (I didn't talk to any of them) came up to me while I was doing something unrelated on a space ship.

Odin smiled at me and shook his head in a sort of friendly way, but also in a closed-off way. The sort of smile you give to lone person standing with a sign at an airport who gets really excited when you walk through the door: "Sorry, it's not me you're waiting for - I hope I didn't confuse you."

Early this year (several months ago, for you people in the future) our house was under renovation that lasted almost three months. Well, this causes conflict in the home. There were constant arguments between my partner and his father (the three of us live together).

I was pretty much up-in-arms about the situation as my partner was under immense stress. At that time, I saw someone reblog a post about Hestia. It had that feeling for me. Hestia, hearth, bread-baking - it stuck in my mind like a little thorn.

I see a hundred posts about gods a day I'm sure, and none of them ever make me really curious about the god. People reblog all day long about Artemis and Apollo and while I enjoy the content and learning, I never feel that pinprick: ah, Artemis, moon and archery, I can't get her out of my mind-

But I felt that way about Hestia. Now I'm not a proper pagan - I don't research gods or do reconstructed/historical practices or anything like that. So why Hestia would come to me was beyond me.

Then I felt the nudge, you know. I might be wrong about the exact specifics - this was a brief encounter almost a year ago - but the nudge is like this:

Have you ever had a thought you don't want to think about, and your mind kind of flexes like a fist squeezing closed, and the thought is blotted out? And if you're quick enough and good enough at battling your own thoughts, that flex can come before the thought ever fully flourishes, like just the hint comes - and the emotions start seeping through for a fraction of a second - and your mind yanks its own reins. And the thought is closed off (until it comes again, as it always will).

So I feel a nudge, that nudge of a thought coming through. And I watch my own mind a lot, I like to know what it's up to. I feel the nudge and my mind starts to say no, and the bit of emotion seeps through, and I think - ah. This is a goddess trying to contact me.

How did I know it was a goddess? When you see someone in a dream that looks nothing like your friend, doing something your friend would never do, how do you know it's your friend? "I just knew it was John, it was strange."

I knew it was a goddess in the same way. I don't know how I knew. I just did.

Then, I remembered Hestia sticking in my mind like dry dough to a pan. I was very pleased with myself that I put it together immediately. I lit a candle for her and she taught me some things, and for a while I made bread in her honor.

I know now I'm bound to the Goat-Footed God after about a decade of experience, input from very helpful friends, and readings from a couple extremely talented practitioners (@thespellweavingspirit is one of them, and sometimes does sell readings). The entire tale is too long and personal to recount (yes, sometimes I do privacy!)

I met Apollo while I was under the influence of entheogens and lying in the dirt. The Eucalyptus trees were lovely and fluttering. The sun was bright, and as I became one with the world, the great star shone through my whole body, and I saw its indweller. I see why people like him. It was a magnificent experience.

[aceofwhump]

A thought just occurred to me. I was looking through the Tumblr trending page today and saw "bisexual" was trending. I scrolled through and saw an interesting infographic on what % of LGBT adults identify as, like 58% bi, 1.3% ace or something, whatever.

I identify as asexual. Way back when, I thought I might be bi because I didn't know what asexual was and, as Jaiden Animations says: zero = zero. I guess I like both, but also neither at the same time?

Anyways, I kept scrolling down on "bisexual" and I start to see like sexy bunny drawings and half naked girls and blah blah. "Sex sells" is completely lost on me. The appeal of boobie pictures or muscular dudes is completely over my head, always has been. I think you, Ace, probably get what I'm talking about here. So, I keep scrolling past thinking "who cares about this shit, literally who would want to look at this? .... Well I guess according to that infographic, like 98.7% of people probably understand this sexy lady crap more than I do". Then I think "whatever, I'm going to go back and look at some whump. There are some LOTR gifs that Ace posted recently that come to mind as well as some super whumpy fanart in my likes. Good shit.

All of this to say: Is how I like to look at, read, watch whump kind of like how people like to look at sexy bunny art? Is "sex sells" kind of like how I watched all of Graceland because you posted a gif of Mike handcuffed on the bed going through withdrawal? I completely understand "whumperflies" I caught the whumperflies from a single gif enough to watch that entire show, which I had never even heard of until seeing that gif. I got completely sucked into the Sonic fandom because of a collection of screenshots of Sonic carrying Tails. It happened to me with Teen Wolf, Outlander, others? (Now that I think about it your blog got me to watch a bunch of shows I don't think I normally would, so thanks!)

Is this somewhat what allo folks experience? Is whumperflies akin to sexual attraction in a way? I do wonder and I never thought about it this way until today.... I'm curious of your thoughts on this, Ace?

I also know that a large chunk of the whump community also identifies under the asexual umbrella so if anyone else has opinion?

Hi nonny!

Lol yeah I too do not understand the sex sells thing in society. I look at commercials like that one Rally's burger one where it's just a half naked woman sitting on a car eating a burger and I'm like "how does this shit work on anyone? Why would this make anyone want to eat a burger??" It genuinely makes no sense to me. But this is actually a theory I've seen once before on here! That our interest in whump/whumperflies is our version of "sexual attraction" which is definitely very interesting. I can see the connection very easily and there definitely are a lot of similarities in the feelings. I do wonder if how we feel whumperflies is how allos feel when they experience sexual attraction but who knows lol. Personally in my brain the two things are separate and I like to keep them separate. I don't like thinking of my whumperflies or my interest in whump as a sort of replacement for sexual attraction. Just feels super weird to me to think of it that way. I don't feel sexual attraction so I don't know what that feels like but I do have a sex drive and feel arousal and it's never happened with anything related to whump and it feels physically different to me than my whumperflies so it's all been kept separate for me. Just my own feelings though!

The sex sells/whump gifs thing is SO INTERESTING! I never thought about that but yeah you're right! For us it's definitely "whump sells" and not "sex sells" lol. Nothing gets me to watch a show faster than a good whumpy gifset lol. Sex? Sexy poses? Absolutely nothing for me. Actually it's much more a turn off than anything. Whump? Hot damn sign me up. I'll watch the whole damn thing for whump. Sidenote I love that you watched all of Graceland because of my mass posting lol.

It's fascinating and a very interesting theory for sure! Totally okay if others feel differently. Like you said there are a lot of aspec whumpers so I think there's definitely something to the theory. I don't know though! Very interesting idea!

[real-life-cloud]

Hey uhh I vaguely remember reading in your tags somewhere some time maybe long ago that you were homeschooled, do you mind me asking just generally what that was like? Don‘t share if you don‘t want to

Y'know what, sure! I like telling stories and oversharing on the internet tbh. Strap in lol it got long.

Tldr; homeschooling was isolating, it definitely set me back socially. The self paced nature of the work put way too much pressure on me, and now I have terrible choice paralysis and rarely finish a project I start. If you or someone you know is considering homeschooling someone, make sure they know what they're getting into.

A lot of homeschooled kids were put into that kind of schooling because their parents want to monitor them. That's not healthy. I'm sure that's not how it is every time and that there's applications of homeschooling that work for people, but it needs to be done well. Kids need to be properly socialized, supported, and given the privacy they need.

Some background info on why I left public: There was an incident where a teacher yelled at me for no good reason in front of the entire student body during lunch. (I was holding a piece of paper (THAT ANOTHER TEACHER GAVE ME FOR HIM TO SIGN) in the lunchroom which wasn't allowed??) I was EXTREMELY embarrassed and anxious around that teacher from then on. I got moved to a different class so I didn't have to be near him. The guidance counselor was really helpful during the whole thing.

OKAY storytime 📖

"Homeschooling" can mean a couple different things , I did it two different ways at points in my life. I feel like the first thing ppl think of is being taught at home by a tutor or parent, but I wasn't homeschooled in this way. And I was in public school until about 7th grade actually!

However, my mom was super mad, and wanted to talk to the man that yelled at me, but the principal wouldn't let her. They kept giving excuses as to why but the jist was: the guy was an asshole and they knew it. SO mom got fed up with the staff and just pulled me out of public school altogether. It was actually my idea! The thought of seeing that teacher again was so upsetting that I just wanted to leave.

[ I feel like I should also mention that I grew up religious and that it was super common for kids to be homeschooled in my church; you were looked up to for homeschooling your kid bc it "kept them away from bad association" and "gave them more time to devote to god." So my mom didn't really fight me on the suggestion. ]

First, I did cyber school! I was in cyber school from 7th - 10th ish. I was given a laptop that blocked anything fun (but not well, so I zipped right past all the blocks lol) and had online classes. It was similar to how I think school worked during covid? No cameras yet tho, just a teacher on VC with power point slides and a chatroom for students. I was a pretty good student up until this point, but I started barely scraping by a lot of classes and failing others. I think I retook pre algebra 3 times? I passed with a very low D 🫶

And SOME classes were self paced. Those were the Fucking Worst. No teacher, not really. I could technically email a teacher with questions but I was a horribly anxious little 14 yr old so no way was I gonna do that. I remember one year I had a civics class that was self paced and I was so lost and stressed about it that I procrastinated til the entire course had like a week til it was due. And it wasn't just tests, I had to make multiple power points on different topics throughout the course. I had a complete emotional breakdown in front of my mom cause I'd been hiding this from her. I was so afraid she'd be mad, but she helped me finish everything on time. She basically did like half of it for me, bless her. God I hated that class.

So at this point school is going. Kind of really bad. My grades suck and half the time I cheat. I don't really have friends because all I do is sit on my laptop and go to church with my family. I didn't have any contact with my old school friends because they weren't a part of my religion. (Jehovah's Witnesses are super exclusive and cult-y) And teenage me has just realized they're not straight!

Like many isolated, repressed, gay teenagers, I mainly expressed myself online. But a few months after I turned 16, my parents found my secret email account that was connected to all my private social media. It was very apparent I was gay. So I outed myself by accident. They pretty much took away all my access to the internet and started paying super close attention to the media I consumed. I'm just glad they didn't go to our church elders and tell on me for my sins or whatever. Life continued as "normal" with them just. Pretending it didn't happen and hoping and praying that I'd magically turn straight. I actually recently found out that my parents NEVER talked about my sexuality with each other during this stage. They just completely avoided the topic.

[ another note, my entire immediate family is actually out of that religion now, and everybody's cool with the gay thing 🫶 my dad actually told me that my coming out is what made him question some things with our religion. ]

But then it became a question of what I was supposed to do for school. I couldn't be on the Websites That Turn You Gay, but I was also doing bad in school and would be put behind a grade or two. Not to mention I was terribly anxious and hadn't really socialized with people my age for the past 3 or so years.

That's how I started correspondence schooling! Another kind of home schooling. It's exactly what it sounds like. The school sends you books and tests, then you mail back the finished papers to be graded. And you might be thinking, Cloudy didn't you just go over how much you hated the self paced classes in cyber? This sounds just like that but worse! And I would say why yes, anon, I did! Such a good memory!! Gold star for you ⭐

This schooling didn't go great, as you could imagine... I think I finished two classes? This didn't have any time limit, however. So why on earth would I feel any pressure to do anything? Overall it was a giant waste of money. I just kept not doing it! Then life got super crazy, I won't go into detail but it was a rollercoaster of family drama, my mental health being at the worst it ever was, and leaving that religion. And then covid!!!! Everything happens so much 😞

I was so far from my diploma that I gave up on finishing my classes and started focusing on getting my GED. This took me another 2 years lol. I finally got it last summer!! I also landed a new job in the spring after being unemployed for a little over a year. And I just got my driver's license last week! It's taken me a longgggg time but my life is on the roll again. This is probably more than you were asking about but yeah.

[ampersand-antics]

So I just beat TotK... and I have THOUGHTS

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!!!!

TOTK ENDING SPOILERS (OBVIOUSLY)

(I also think I got a secret ending? So spoilers for that)

I think the biggest accomplishment for me so far has been beating that malice-infused Silver Lynel under Hyrule Castle

So funny story, right after the spirit temple, I was like "Well I bet gdorf is under the castle, imma hop down there and see if I can find him." I went to the under-depths under the castle but I didn't see gdorf anywhere! I went past the likelikes and the horriblins and I didn't see any sign of gdorf so I left. Did the kogha depths quests (very much enjoyed the kogha depths quests they were epic!!!! (except I couldn't find the rito chasm)) and then kogha was like 'he's under the castle lol' and so I WENT BACK UNDER THE CASTLE and nothing was different!! And then I found the pass!! That had been there this whole time!!!

Uhhh thoughts on the castle... I loved it. I loved the enemies and how genuinely difficult it was, I loved the aesthetics, the music?? THE MUSIC!!!! oh my god I loved the music sosososo much. The way it progressed throughout the castle?? The way we went so far down was fuckin epic. I enjoyed it immensely. And I loved being able to be back in the first area - the echoes of going back to the beginning, cyclicalness, idk there's a much much deeper theme there but I don't have the words to express it.

I really enjoyed the fights with gdorf and I'm sososo glad he got rehydrated eventually. The hearts getting quite literally destroyed was an amazing twist. And the fact that he could flurry rush you??? I hated (loved) that sooooo much!!! At least he couldn't give like five attacks in return. I got out of that fight with two hearts left, and it was such a weird feeling to have full hearts and there only being two. The draconification was incredibly incharacter for gdorf but I still wasn't really expecting it. Just goes to show how fuckin strong link is, bc he felt THAT desperate. The dragon fight was kinda underwhelming tbh but I absolutely loved the aesthetics. I wish there was a way that the Demon dragon would still be there in the overworld. I'm glad Zelda came back, I'm sosososo glad she got her happy ending, I've heard a lot about how it felt cheap but honestly folks use 'the power of love' as a reason for so many things all the time so it's not bad. And the fact that there's an actual Explanation (sonia's and raaru's spirit powers, coming to finish the job?? Epicccc) one thing i didnt like (or think makes sense) is that links arm went back to normal all in all tho I really enjoyed it!!!!

I liked the secret ending too. I don't really know what to say about it (my brains going brrr rn and it's hard to actually articulate it)

The one thing about all this that really pissed me off was that things just went back to the way they'd been before. I mean, it really didn't have to. You could've kept the gloom by just being like "yeah for some reason all the gloom didn't go away". Then don't transform Zelda back into a human, just extract her, so there's the dragon form and the human form and you can still get horns, let link keep his arm and have mineru's construct be inhabited by an AI. Maybe even add a side quest series about getting rid of the gloom from hyrule/the depths via Zeldas light powers? As for Zelda herself, either go SMO style and have her pop up in random locations talking about stuff, have her stay in Hateno at her house and the school, or (and this would be really cool) make her into a companion! We already have the baseline for that with the other sages, she could have a moveset similar to Zeldas basic light moves in aoc, and maybe her sage ability could bathe a little area in sacred light and make it so gloom wasn't existent in it? Idk it could be super fun. And not having it matter at all in the end makes everything feel much much less meaningful.

All in all, I think i like totk less than botw. But not by much, they're both great games and I LOVE how totk built on botw. Maybe it's just the nostalgia talking, but there's just something I can't put my finger on that makes botw better than totk.

I'll keep updating this blog with more of playthrough!!